In coaches' poll, Washington pulls into No. 1 tie with Miami

December 02, 1991|By Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO -- The college football polls have gotten so absurd, it's come down to this: One of the top coaches actually praised the media's intelligence yesterday while questioning the wisdom his fraternity.

Erickson's perspective hardly can be faulted. Despite the Hurricanes' 39-12 victory over San Diego State on Saturday, Miami, which owned a three-point lead last week, lost sole possession of its top ranking in the USA Today/CNN coaches poll.

The panel of 59 coaches elevated No. 2 Washington (11-0) into a first-place tie with Miami, each with 1,443 points. The Hurricanes still have more first-place votes, 31-28.

The Associated Press media poll went more according to form. The Hurricanes lost only half a first-place vote from last week, as one voter who split his ballot finally made up his mind. Miami remains on top, holding a 37-23 edge over Washington in first-place votes.

One AP voter didn't have Miami in his top three.

With Washington playing No. 4 Michigan in the Rose Bowl and Miami playing No. 11 Nebraska in the Federal Express Orange Bowl, there's a good chance the polls will be split for the second straight year if Washington wins big. In the eyes of some voters, any victory over Nebraska probably will be downgraded because Miami is playing at home.

The final polls will be released Jan. 2 after the bowl games.

Scores, schedule

THURSDAY

East

Penn St. 32, Pittsburgh 20

South

Alabama St. 62, Johnson C. Smith 6

Presbyterian 32, Newberry 17

Southwest

Texas A&M 31, Texas 14

FRIDAY

Midwest

Nebraska 19, Oklahoma 14

SATURDAY

East

Dayton 28, Allegheny 25, OT

Indiana, Pa. 52, Shippensburg 7

Ithaca 35, Union, N.Y. 23

James Madison 42, Delaware 35, 2OT

Samford 29, New Hampshire 13

Susquehanna 31, Lycoming 24

South

Alabama 13, Auburn 6

E. Kentucky 14, Appalachian St. 3

Florida 14, Florida St. 9

Florida A&M 46, Bethune-Cookman 28

Georgia 18, Georgia Tech 15

Jacksonville St. 35, Mississippi Col. 7

Marshall 20, W. Illinois 17, OT

Miami 39, San Diego St. 12

Middle Tenn. 20, Sam Houston St. 19, OT

Southern U. 31, Grambling St. 30

Tennessee 45, Vanderbilt 0

Midwest

N. Iowa 38, Weber St. 21

Pittsburg St. 38, E. Texas St. 28

St. John's, Minn. 29, Wis.-LaCrosse 10

Youngstown St. 17, Villanova 16

Southwest

Texas Tech 52, Houston 46

Tulsa 31, Southern Meth. 26

West

Nevada 22, McNeese St. 16

Notre Dame 48, Hawaii 42

Portland St. 37, Mankato St. 27

Tournaments

NCAA Division II

Quarterfinals

Pittsburg St. 38, E. Texas St. 28

SATURDAY

State

Army vs. Navy at Philadelphia, 1:30 p.m.

YESTERDAY

South

Clemson 33, Duke 21

AP top 25

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Saturday, total points (based on 25 points for a first-place vote through 1 point for a 25th-place vote) and previous ranking: